The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 54

Chapter 54. How False Rumors Spread (4)

“Whoa, whoa!”
We arrived at the main gate of the Sichuan Tang Family Estate.
As I helped the child down from the horse, the Gate Keeper who saw this came running in alarm.
“Young Master!”
“Young Master Tang Jo-ung!”
Upon hearing the name Tang Jo-ung, I could confirm that the child I had rescued was indeed the victim of that kidnapping incident.
I spoke to the Gate Keeper.
“Call someone to bring your young master inside at once. He must be quite frightened.”
The child continued.
“I was nearly kidnapped, but this humble merchant here saved me.”
“What?”
“Gasp!”
Both Gate Keepers were startled, and immediately rang the bell to alert those inside of the emergency.
“The carriage behind carries the villains responsible.”
I had brought along those who had attempted to kidnap the child to the Sichuan Tang Family Estate as well.
It seemed it would make handling the matter far easier in many respects.
I could anticipate the hardships they would face ahead, but that was none of my concern.
The wounds they sustained from being jostled about in that dilapidated carriage—stripped of even straw for cushioning against the wheel’s impacts—were equally none of my affair.
“And…”
I looked at Palgap, who lowered a corpse wrapped tightly in cloth from atop the carriage to the ground.
When the Gate Keeper expressed confusion at this, Tang Jo-ung stepped forward to explain.
“She was my Nursemaid.”
“…”
“They kidnapped the Nursemaid’s child and ordered me to come with them. The Nursemaid died at their hands.”
Tang Jo-ung explained the situation calmly and composedly, with a composure beyond his years.
That excessively rational, unchildlike demeanor troubled me.
Right now, Tang Jo-ung was forcibly suppressing his emotions.
This was not good.
Emotions cannot be suppressed indefinitely.
Eventually, they must leave their mark somewhere—on the body or the mind.
Though I have not lived long, when I reflect upon my past life, I recall several people like this.
Tang Jo-ung before me was one of them.
So that is how it came to be.
In time, Tang Jo-ung would develop a rather cruel disposition.
I had selected only the most cruel poisons for killing people, and committed such atrocities as burning child abductors alive.
In particular, for the Murim Alliance that had saved him, he took the lead in any task, and even after the Murim Alliance abandoned him later, he died smiling, saying he was grateful for the opportunity to repay his debt.
This time, it wasn’t the Murim Alliance who rescued him, so such a fate wouldn’t befall him, but I at least hoped he wouldn’t develop a cruel disposition.
I could surmise that his nature had become this way because in his past life, after being kidnapped and confined in Hyung In-mun for five years, he had suppressed extreme terror and fear.
How frightened must an eight-year-old child have been?
So the emotions he was currently suppressing needed to be released in one great outburst.
Only then would they not erupt in some twisted direction later.
And what martial artists must be most wary of is the Demon of the Heart.
If left as is, this experience would surely become a Demon of the Heart and shackle Tang Jo-ung’s progress.
Just like his previous life—blessed with tremendous talent and held in high regard, yet ultimately unable to surpass the wall of the absolute peak and dying.
Such a future for this child!
I didn’t want that.
I placed my hand on Tang Jo-ung’s shoulder and knelt down to meet his eyes.
“You’ve come home now.”
“Yes. I am grateful that you saved me and brought me here.”
“You have returned. And you are alive now.”
“….”
“Soon you will meet your parents and family.”
At my words, Tang Jo-ung’s eyes grew red-rimmed.
“You did not die, and you can meet your family.”
“….”
“You are alive now.”
“….”
“Repeat after me. I am alive now.”
“I am… alive… now.”
“Let’s do it once more.”
Tang Jo-ung repeated my words again and again, and gradually tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.
Finally, Tang Jo-ung burst into tears.
“Sob!”
“That’s right, you were so frightened, weren’t you?”
“I was frightened. Afraid I would die. Afraid I would never see my family again. I was so frightened.”
And so Tang Jo-ung wept bitterly in my embrace.
Now I could rest easy.
Yes, at this rate he would be able to shed the worst of the traumatic memories from this ordeal.
I sensed someone rushing toward us from a distance.
Tang Jo-ung had cried so much that he grew exhausted and finally fell asleep.
The door opened and a woman in an ornate silk robe rushed out.
“Jo-ung!”
As I looked at her, the Gate Keeper spoke.
“She is Lady Hong-ri, the House Master’s third wife.”
I lifted Tang Jo-ung and placed him in her arms.
“Here is your son, madam.”
“Ah….”
“He cried himself to exhaustion. Once he arrived home, relief seemed to wash over him—he wept profusely.”
“I, I see.”
“I am merely a traveler passing through. In truth….”
I bowed respectfully to her and explained the circumstances from beginning to end.
“And that is how it came to pass.”
“I am truly grateful. I cannot fathom how to repay such a debt.”
“I did not act in expectation of reward. It was merely a fortuitous encounter along my path. Now, we must take our leave.”
“No, please come inside. How could I possibly let my son’s benefactor and our family’s savior depart like this?”
“In truth, our circumstances do not permit us such leisure. I must beg your forgiveness for this discourtesy.”
Why would we deliberately traverse the dense forest?
It was to reach the Sichuan Provincial Capital swiftly and discreetly.
Should it become known that we were the ones who rescued the Sichuan Tang Family’s precious child, our mission would be compromised.
And truthfully, since I acted without expectation of reward, departing now was the right course.
“Then we shall take our leave.”
In the meantime, Palgap had already untethered the horses from the carriage he had brought and mounted one.
I too mounted my horse and proceeded directly toward our destination: the Eun Hae Trading Company Sichuan Branch.
At that moment, I noticed Lee Pil Warrior’s expression.
It was one of considerable relief.
Now that I thought about it, his expression had grown somewhat tense from the moment we learned that Tang Jo-ung was a child of the Sichuan Tang Family….
There was something peculiar about it, but I let it pass for now.

* * *

An hour later, Tang Jo-ung opened his eyes.
“Ah….”
It was a familiar ceiling.
“Jo-ung!”
He turned his head.
His father and mother were standing beside his bed.
“Father? Mother?”
“Yes!”
“Are you awake?”
It was real.
I had truly reunited with my family.
I wept again, cradled in my father and mother’s arms.
“I had a terrible nightmare. I was at the marketplace with the nursemaid….”
As I recounted the story, I gradually came to understand.
What I had experienced was no dream at all.
“Father! Where is the young hero who saved me? I never properly thanked him.”
“Hmm?”
“Well, you see….”
Dang Gyu-jeong, Tang Jo-ung’s father, and Lady Hong-ri grew evasive.
“After placing you in my arms, he simply left.”
At Lady Hong-ri’s words, Tang Jo-ung lowered his head in disappointment.
“If not for him, I would be dead. And Father, you have always told me that those of the Sichuan Tang Family should repay kindness twofold and avenge wrongs tenfold.”
“That’s true.”
“Then I wish to do the same.”
“But that man revealed neither his name nor his affiliation—he vanished like the wind.”
It was then that the House Master and Tang Jo-ung’s father, Dang Gyu-jeong, spoke carefully.
“Which is why I wonder if perhaps those people also….”
“Absolutely not!”
Suspecting they might be accomplices of the kidnappers, Tang Jo-ung spoke decisively.
Yet there was merit to Dang Gyu-jeong’s words.
After all, there were cases where people posed as benefactors to extract rewards.
“When I offered to repay him, he said that when I grow older and witness someone in danger, if I have the ability to save them, I should not turn away. That alone would be sufficient repayment.”
“He truly said such a thing? He asked for nothing else?”
“Nothing whatsoever.”
“Hmm….”
Dang Gyu-jeong nodded.
Then it seemed he had genuinely saved my youngest son out of goodwill.
‘Indeed, if he were truly an accomplice, he would not have vanished like the wind. His purpose would have been to remain here and extract something.’
Dang Gyu-jeong spoke.
“But we know nothing. He revealed absolutely nothing before departing.”
Lady Hong-ri nodded at his words.
Moreover, even the kidnappers themselves hadn’t known it.
“If we only knew the name, we could find him.”
Though it sounds like boasting, the Sichuan Tang Family is the most influential family in Sichuan.
With just a name, we can find anyone.
That’s when Tang Jo-ung exclaimed.
“Ah! I remember now. It was Eun Seo-ho, a minor cultivator!”
“Eun Seo-ho, a minor cultivator?”
“Yes. When he rescued me, he told me his name to reassure me. He was someone named Eun Seo-ho who works for the Eunhae Trading Company.”
At those words, Dang Gyu-jeong rose from his seat and spoke.
“Trust your father in this.”
“I’m counting on you, Father.”
He had to find the benefactor who saved his youngest son and repay the debt of gratitude.
It was partly for the honor of the family, but it was also the heart of a father grateful for his son’s rescue.
He immediately spoke to his aide.
“Find a man named Eun Seo-ho from the Eunhae Trading Company. But it seems there’s some circumstance involved, so search as discreetly as possible.”
“Understood.”

* * *

I gazed at the distant building before me.
This place, located north of Sichuan Provincial Capital, was the Eunhae Trading Company’s Sichuan branch.
Though situated in the granary region, the Eunhae Trading Company’s purpose here wasn’t grain.
Since ancient times, Sichuan silk has been called Shu Brocade, renowned as one of the four great silks of the Central Plains.
Naturally, the Eunhae Trading Company dealt in silk and distributed the Shu Brocade from this region.
Additionally, sugar and citrus were produced abundantly here, and it was also a major source of rock salt.
For a merchant guild, it was truly a land of gold.
But the path to Sichuan was treacherous indeed.
Because of this, we couldn’t visit frequently.
As a result, we couldn’t respond promptly to the changing circumstances here each time.
Thus, this branch was established.
And the branch director here was….
My uncle.
“Won’t you meet with the branch director?” Palgap asked.
I nodded at his question.
“Right. That’s what we agreed on.”
I knew my uncle wasn’t a spy for the Dan Clan Merchant Guild.
He was the one who greatly helped the Eunhae Trading Company become renowned for its silk.
But I’m not meeting with my uncle now because I still don’t know who the Dan Clan’s spy is.
If I met with my uncle, the branch staff would immediately learn of my arrival.
Then the Dan Clan Merchant Guild would launch yet another sabotage operation, and it would ultimately devolve into a mud-slinging war.
I apologize to my uncle, but I had to postpone our pleasant reunion for now.
I gazed at the branch building from a distance, then turned away.
Now it was time to begin the operation.
.
.
.
Shortly after, I found a suitable target.
It was the children playing in the neighborhood.
I bought a generous amount of snacks, sat beneath a tree, placed the snacks on a nearby rock, and called the children over.
“Hey, children.”
“…?”
I offered the children candied pastries as I spoke.
“Would you like to eat these?”
“Candied pastries!”
The candied pastries I offered were flour dough fried in oil, glazed with honey, and dusted with sugar.
Though a simple snack skewered on a stick, the children’s mouths watered at the sight.
“But mother told us not to eat things strangers give us….”
“She said we shouldn’t.”
“That’s right. You shouldn’t eat food from other people without permission. But I bought so many candied pastries, you see. It would be wasteful to throw them away.”
“Mmm… we shouldn’t waste food.”
“Mother said we’d be punished for wasting food.”
“So I’m just asking you to help me eat these.”
Only then did the children cautiously pick up the skewers one by one.
Once their bellies were full, they finally turned their attention to me and asked.
“Who are you, mister?”
“I’m a traveler. I came here with my servant over there.”
I pointed to Palgap, and the children tilted their heads.
“That man looks like a bear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Haha. Really? Then what do I look like?”
“You look like… um, a jade figurine.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, I was taken aback. They thought I resembled a jade figurine?
“Because you’re pretty.”
“Yeah. You’re pretty, mister.”
“But you shouldn’t call it a jade figurine. They said that’s a figurine possessed by a ghost.”
“Yeah. We heard the adults talking about it.”
First it was a spirit, now it’s a ghost?
Sigh….
Well, there’s not much difference between a spirit and a ghost anyway.
I smiled again and spoke.
“Still, I’m grateful you say I’m as beautiful as a Jamu figurine.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No, I’m fine with it. Actually, I rather like it. Because I know a secret song about Jamu figurines.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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